College of Creative

Dean Lois Brayfield

President J. Schmid & Assoc. Inc.LBrayfield@CatalogUniversity.comLois Brayfield, has been making a difference in direct marketing for 30 years. She has worked with Hallmark, American Express(UK), HoneyBaked Ham, Wolfermans, IKEA, Sears (Canada), Ezibuy (Australia) and Marks & Spencer (UK.) She is a frequent speaker at conferences including the DMA Annual and NEMOA, a contributing writer for Multi-Channel Merchant and serves on the boards of NEMOA, ACMA and the Editorial board for Target Marketing.

From the Catalog Blog:

The 3 rules of advertising are benefit, benefit, benefit When you want to increase sales of a product, the most important thing to do is determine the benefit. What is the product going to do for the customer? Most product copy focuses on the attributes, product specifications, what it does, what it’s made of, where it […]

Everytime you add new product you have to position it. Positioning is the story you tell the customer about why they want it and what it will do for them. The first and most important question is “What is it good for?” That isn’t a simple question—consider the avocado. In the 70’s, when avocado growers were […]

When someone says “Can we promote this in the catalog?” how do you answer? Catalogs can move the needle on a lot of fronts: customer acquisition, inventory issues, brand enhancement, and customer education. To do things effectively there needs to be a pretty relentless focus on the catalog’s strategy and costs. If you need to promote […]

New Classes

Is there a class that can teach you how to design a great catalog?

The answer is both simple and infinitely complex. There are design “rules” which, if understood and followed, can increase catalog demand, increase customer engagement, increase time on page, increase average order value, reduce returns and eliminate common inventory problems. Sounds amazing right? Great catalog creative does wonderful things but, (with something that amazing there is always a “but”), every catalog is different so the answer is not the same for everyone. Learning and understanding the most important design concepts is Job #1 for any new catalog designer.

And great catalog design intersects with catalog marketing and catalog merchandising. Think of them like a three legged stool – all three legs have to be in good working order. While the most important ingredient for catalog success is great merchandise, great creative is where the magic happens. If you are looking for a good basic course in catalog creative start with “Core Principles in Catalog Creative” It will walk you through the creative process starting with the macro elements like Brand and Marketing Strategy, then drill down into the micro elements like Pagination, Hot Spots and Messaging. There are lots more classes on catalog design as well as recorded Pub Talks with catalog all-stars like Lois Brayfield, and Jeff Ryan.

Creating a compelling Brand

One of the most important jobs in catalog creative is making sure that the design, photography, and copywriting are in sync and are a reflection of your company’s brand. If you are looking for a great class on how to create brand cohesion across channels check out “Consider a Brand Campaign“. You’ll find it in the creative strategy courses.

Take catalog design and strategy classes whenever it’s convenient

And for a fraction of what a single class would cost. There are a great selection of design classes at Cat-U and we are adding more all the time. If you have questions or aren’t sure where to start just ask the Dean of Creative, Lois Brayfield. She would be happy to answer questions and point you in the right direction.

Catalog University is dedicated to helping catalogers succeed! Half of your subscription goes directly to our deans and presenters. We feel that’s the best way to reward the working professionals who are taking time out of their busy schedules to help you succeed in the complex and fascinating world of catalogs.